All of my classes, from grades 1-6, enjoy pondering the life cycle of a leaf, from bud to death, and then personifying a leaf in their imaginations! What would that leaf think about being a tiny bud? How about the prime of its life, in summer, when the weather is great and the leaf would be big and green? And then, there's autumn to think about, when the leaf would change clothes and eventually, fall to the ground. What would a grumpy leaf think about that? How about a happy or optimistic leaf? What if a leaf lived its life in constant fear? We had a great time learning the format of interviews in the "Awesome" class, while the "Budding" class wrote their longest pieces yet: Three whole chapters! Enjoy these samples.
My Life as a Leaf, by Vivian (1st grade)
An Interview with a Leaf
by Adeline (5th grade)
Gracelyn: Hello, Miss Leaf!
Miss Leaf: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Gracelyn:Um…
Miss Leaf: Uh… sorry…. I’m just not used to, like, real things like you talking to me.
Gracelyn: It’s okay. My name is Gracelyn, and I’m going to interview you! My first question is: what was it like being a bud?
Miss Leaf: It was great! A little crowded at times, but always fun. Also, what I saw was so cool! There were beings like you walking around and inspecting all sort of things.
Gracelyn: Cool!
Miss Leaf: Also, I saw a BEAR!!! The wise leaf said bears don’t eat leaves, but I decided to be careful anyway. I had tried to escape, but it didn’t work. Then the bear climbed up to my neighborhood and he ACTUALLY sniffed me!!! Thankfully, he climbed back down.
Gracelyn: Oh no! I’m glad you’re okay! What happened as summer came by?
Miss Leaf: Well, I saw more things like you, and another BEAR!! He knocked off a few leaves and I was afraid the same thing would happen to me. By that time, I was a nice bright green, medium sized leaf.
Gracelyn: Got it. What else happened when you were still young?
Miss Leaf: There was this bird that this wise leaf calls a woodpecker. Well, it actually pecks wood. It was so annoying! None of the leaves in my neighborhood could ever take a nap! Thankfully, he left. Then, it was the change of clothes!
Gracelyn: Please tell me about that!
Miss Leaf: So, first of all, there were less beings like you, and all around me my brothers, sisters, and friends all turned brown, red, orange, yellow. I was very excited to change clothes myself.
Gracelyn: I bet you were!
Miss Leaf: Also, the wise leaf said it’s called “fall,” but I didn’t know I would actually fall! When the other leaves around me fell, I heard them screaming in terror. And when they reached the ground, I heard them moaning in agony!!
Gracelyn: *Gasp* How was your fall?
Miss Leaf: Well, I’ve always been kind of scared of heights, and so I was kind of afraidto fall, but at the same time I was happy to get my feet on solid ground.
Gracelyn: Please tell me what happened!
Miss Leaf: So one windy day, I felt I couldn’t hold on to my branch anymore, so I let go. Oh my! I was horrified! I closed my eyes tight and I felt myself twirling all around! Soon, I felt that I was on solid ground and opened my eyes to find myself here. Giant trees towered above me, and it was a strange experience.
Gracelyn: I think it was!
Miss Leaf: Yes! I am glad I am here. The wise leaf said leaves on the ground will die soon. I’m not really worried after the flying experience.
Gracelyn: Don’t worry, I can help you! I can press you in a book to preserve you!
Miss Leaf: Really??
Gracelyn: Yes! And that concludes our interview! Thank you for the discussion!
An Interview With a Leaf
by Vivian (5th grade)
SPRING
Interviewer: Good evening, Leaf Girl! How are you today?
Leaf Girl: Good evening. Why are you here, among the grasses?
Interviewer: I am curious about your life, as a leaf.
Leaf Girl: What would you like to know? I am just the average leaf.
Interviewer: Well, to begin with, I’d like to understand your first memory.
Leaf Girl: Ah, that. So long ago. The very first thing I budded to was raindrops. They pitter-pattered on the thin branch supporting me. The twitter of quarreling birds drew my attention. One screamed, “I want the nut!” The other screeched, “Too bad!” It went on for quite a while. Most amusing. As everyone should know, leaves do not mature. We are born with varying levels of wisdom, and cannot increase our knowledge. Quite luckily, I was brighter than several others.
Interviewer: Lucky indeed! But I must question, did much excitement happen in the early stages of your life?
Leaf Girl: Very little happened when the cherry blossoms bloomed in full splendor. I suppose I can recall once when a group of children played with a strange circular object. They yammered about uselessly, ramming into each other and screaming their heads off. This happened several times. It was all extremely annoying.
Interviewer: Did you have any main interactions with nearby leaves?
Leaf Girl: Things like these are always complicated. I specifically detested my younger sister, younger by 0.0007600323432 seconds. Yes, leaves require precise measurements. However, I could go farther; 0.00076003234320000682376843598565 seconds. She was spoiled; she was sheltered and surrounded by her admirers. Most were younger by approximately 0.0003547345265424387 seconds. Much younger. I could go in the binary system, too; written in binary, it would be approximately 0.000–
SUMMER
Interviewer: Er… Let’s continue! We are, um, running out of time! Let’s hurry on. What about summer? How did you feel?
Leaf Girl: I noticed that all the nearby flowers had bloomed at last. The rain had ended, and the blistering sun dried up the topmost and exposed leaves. But I found myself still a fresh, young springy green. I realized that my reach was expanding. I swayed in the breeze along with my friends. The birds were more common in the summer. Of course, they were quite annoying with their squawks. Some of the songbirds were annoying, but the nightingale was kind to us leaves.
Interviewer: I see. Did any events happen?
Leaf Girl: Well, there was this young girl that was, to say the least, evil. She tore off the bottom parts of the lowest leaves and scattered them on the ground. It’s comparable to decapitating some of his own kind. How merciless!
Leaf Girl continues and describes the girl with quite a lengthy explanation.
Interviewer: Hmm… (I thought I knew her… She’s super-nice…)
Leaf Girl: WHAT. DID. YOU. JUST. SAY?!
Interviewer: Uh… Nothing at all. NOTHING. I SAID NOTHING.
Leaf Girl: Doubtful. You said something.
Interviewer: You are getting very sleepy. Now forget I said anything!
Leaf Girl: I am getting very annoyed. Now continue with the interview if you want to keep your job!
Interviewer: Yes, yes, immediately, yes. Let’s continue…
AUTUMN
Interviewer: So, let’s go on with autumn. Did you notice your change of colors early in the season?
Leaf Girl: Yes. With so many others surrounding me, I obviously found the change. Alas, I was in despair when I saw the eldest leaves shrivel up and drop. But I realized that my colors were truly magnificent, and I enjoyed the feeling.
Interviewer: As usual, did anything extraordinary happen?
Leaf Girl: Obviously. My siblings all dropped until I was one of the last lucky few. I saw them littered on the ground there. Remember my annoying younger sister? She was, ironically, terrified of heights. So she screamed as she went down, then yelled at the top of her lungs, “IT’S AWESOME DOWN HERE!!!”
Interviewer: So how did you fall?
Leaf Girl: We leaves prefer to call it the voyage. I already knew what would become of me, so I didn’t panic. Then the graceful fall was peaceful. And now I am here.
Interviewer: Thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview.
Leaf Girl: Farewell.
No comments:
Post a Comment